Dr Govinda KC, the orthopaedic surgeon and medical education campaigner, was airlifted from Ilam to Kathmandu on Monday after doctors warned his life was at risk.
A Nepali Army helicopter landed at Thulo Tudikhel in Ilam at about 8:45 a.m. to pick him up. He was expected to be admitted to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) in Maharajgunj.
His blood glucose had dropped to about 35 milligrams per decilitre (mg/dL), doctors reported. They also found an irregular heartbeat, more acetone in his urine and blood pressure of 100/60. Dr Mahesh Acharya, one of the doctors treating him, described the fall in glucose as sharp. KC reportedly kept refusing glucose even though doctors gave him intravenous fluids.
How his condition worsened
KC began his 25th hunger strike at 5 p.m. on October 29 at Narayansthan Temple in Ilam. On Saturday evening, October 31, he was admitted to Ilam Hospital. On Sunday, November 1, Medical Superintendent Dr Amitabh Thakur said his condition had reached a life-threatening level.
The hospital asked the Ministry of Health and Population and the Koshi Province government for help, and Koshi Province Health Secretary Kritipal Subedi visited. Doctors recommended a better-equipped hospital with continuous monitoring, and he was flown out on Monday.
A reading below 70 mg/dL is generally counted as low blood sugar, and a reading below 54 mg/dL needs immediate attention. At 35 it is extremely dangerous and can bring confusion, seizures, loss of consciousness and abnormal heart rhythms. The acetone in his urine suggests his body is breaking down fat for energy, which happens in long fasts.
Why he is on hunger strike
KC has fasted many times to push for changes in medical education. His current protest says the government has not kept earlier promises. He has six demands:
- Cancel approvals for MBBS, nursing and other programmes at Shahid Dasharath Chand University of Health Sciences in Geta, Kailali, until it meets standards for facilities, staff and law.
- Reverse extra student seats at medical colleges he says do not meet standards. He has singled out Nepal Army Medical College.
- Order an independent investigation into the appointments and decisions of the Medical Education Commission’s vice-chair and relevant university officials, including possible conflicts of interest.
- Make the Geta teaching hospital fully operational.
- Enforce the rule that at least 75% of seats at qualifying public medical and health institutions go through scholarships.
- Carry out earlier promises of government medical colleges in Ilam, Udayapur and Dadeldhura, and restart the Bardibas Medical College project that was scrapped.
His argument is that Geta should meet its standards before admitting students, and that he supports public medical education in the region.
The government’s side
His 24th hunger strike ended in July 2026 with a seven-point agreement. It promised steps towards a teaching hospital of at least 300 beds at Geta, staffing and curriculum preparation, work on university legislation, student quotas set to standards, scholarship rules kept, a task force to check earlier agreements and more health facilities in underserved areas.
KC says the commitments were not met on time.
On October 30 the Ministry of Education and Sports said task forces had been set up to carry out the agreements and reforms were continuing, including on scholarships, quotas and regulation.
Why it matters
Quotas and scholarships decide who can enter medical school and at what cost. A working teaching hospital at Geta could help patients in Sudurpaschim who now travel to Nepalgunj, Kathmandu or India for specialist care.
Public colleges in Ilam, Udayapur and Dadeldhura could do the same for their regions.
